You stand to Tiva's side after briefly considering jumping in front of her gun. It wouldn't be worth it to risk getting shot, you think to yourself. "You can't do this, Tiva. They're retreating! They think we're savages. Monsters. Do you want to prove them right?"
Tiva's arm shakes and tears stream down from her unblinking eyes. "Your objection is noted, Klel."
"I can't let you shoot them, Tiva."
"Try to stop me."
Tiva's finger tenses on the trigger and she steadies her hand, firing at the back of the retreating soldier. The first shot goes wide, and the man looks back, almost tripping in his panic.
The next two shots don't miss, sending him careening face-first into the asphalt with a short gurgling scream. The other two soldiers, not wanting to be Tiva's next targets, take cover behind a concrete barrier and return fire. You pull Tiva to the ground as bullets whiz through the air where she was standing.
"We've got to get out of here," you say over the whipcracks of gunfire. "They have training and better weapons. Fear of the wolf put the scare into them, but they aren't just going to turn tail again after you shot at their backs."
Tiva spits and tries to rise. You pull her back down again in the nick of time. "I can't let them see me run," she says. "Not after what they did to me."
"You'll get your vengeance," you say, more calmly than you feel. "But if we stay here, we'll die for nothing. If the humans really mean to come down on us hard, we're going to need every fighter we can get. We need you."
She looks back in the direction of the soldiers, uncertainty in her eyes. Finally she winces and starts to crawl away toward cover, shooting blindly behind her to give you time to maneuver.
The other wolves have already scattered, taking the rifle, by the time you and Tiva finally reach the safety of the alley. You peek around the corner, but the humans don't appear to have followed you.
The two of you run toward home in silence. You want to tell her that everything will be all right. But you know that would be a lie.
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